Web Development

Mobile Helix Pure Play HTML5 Platform

By Adrian Bridgwater, June 25, 2013

Platform is designed with data security, rather than device security, at its core

Mobile Helix has launched what it calls the industry's "first pure HTML5 platform" in the form of Link. This product works as an open HTML5 application development and delivery platform and is designed with data security rather than device security at its core.

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What Is Pure HTML5?

The firm says that Link's app architecture is built around the concept of pure HTML5 apps and that pure HTML5 apps are fully standards-compliant HTML5/CSS3/JavaScript apps delivered by standard web servers, app servers, or portal servers via HTTPS. Pure HTML5 means 100% open, standards-based, and cross platform app development integrated into a secured, containerized browser that operates across all of the major mobile platforms.

This technology bridges the fixed/mobile application divide by allowing any existing or new browser-based enterprise application to be deployed across multiple device types, including mobile devices, PCs, and laptops.

Link is available for iOS and Android, with support for Windows 8, Mac OS X, and Blackberry 10
scheduled for later this year.

"Link is designed with unrestricted enterprise productivity at its core. It is the first product on the market to combine the unmistakable benefits of device-independent applications built using HTML5, with a disruptive data security platform that ensures sensitive corporate data is safe on any device," comments Seth Hallem, CEO of Mobile Helix. "We believe the notion that fixed and mobile applications require different development, delivery, and security solutions is fundamentally flawed."

The firm says that even when devices are "rooted" or "jailbroken," Link ensures that corporate data is not at risk. Link includes a secure container on the device, fully device-independent encryption of all data in motion and at rest, a management architecture that ensures encrypted data remains safe, and a policy engine that allows IT to enforce policies on applications and data rather than on devices.

"Contrary to popular opinion, mobile operating systems aren't necessarily less secure than
PC operating systems. A tablet or smartphone with the right data security posture can be as, if not more, secure than a typical corporate laptop. PCs are perceived to be safe because of the numerous security 'band aids' that are applied to them, such as anti-virus, full-disk encryption, DLP, and network access control," says Maribel Lopez, founder and principal analyst of Lopez Research.

Link integrates with existing IT processes and infrastructure to enable a simplified "download free" application delivery and support model, removing the need for a separate enterprise app store, app catalog, and dedicated distribution and update processes for every different application and mobile operating system.

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